They say that sometimes a particular song you hear, a scent you smell, a taste of a particular food and images you see can trigger a memory that has slipped your mind.
Lately I’ve been listening to the Hall and Oates Radio Station at Pandora Radio which sparked a memory of my childhood years.
A list of things that I remember just like they were yesterday.
The Carpenters.
My mom was a huge fan of The Carpenters. We used to have a karaoke machine and my mom would always pick a song by them. Her voice was warm and soothing just like Karen Carpenter when she sings.
The sampaguita.
Sampaguita is the Philippines national flower. They are so fragrant! The scent is similar to jasmine. These little buds can be seen adorned on leis.
While I’ve seen these beautiful flowers in full bloom, nothing reminds me of growing up than seeing them in bud forms.
483 Prudencio Street.
We lived in Prudencio street. I tried pulling Google maps in hoping that I could see (at least the roof) our house. Sadly since they had made tons of renovations before we left to the States, I probably won’t remember what it looked like.
Holy Trinity Parish Church in Balic-balic.
In my elementary school years, I attended Holy Trinity Academy Girl’s Department. Back when I attended, the school was divided into boy’s and girl’s departments. My fondest memories was attending this school-from the cheerleading competitions, school plays, class parades and my barkada.
Inside Holy Trinity Parish.
This is the inside of Holy Trinity Parish Church. While searching for images of the church, I came across this picture. I do not remember the inside of the church, however, if you look closely (the image I circled in red) looks like a projector screen. Ah, this I remember! I remember going to mass once a week and singing songs using the projector to help us with the words.
Ricoa Curly Tops.
If I have a choice of any chocolate that I could eat everyday, it would be this one! It is definitely an acquired taste (and somewhat chalky) so why would I choose this one? Simple. It’s because of the memories... I remember tasting these little gems while rummaging (okay, snooping) through my grandparents’ dresser looking for my Christmas presents and a box of Curly Tops is what I’ve found in between my grandfather’s v-neck white shirts...
SO-EN Undergarments.
Speaking of Christmas-remember when your relatives would give you underwears and socks for Christmas? No, hmm must be just me then. Anyway, SO-EN is a Filipino brand of undergarments. We (my sister and I) would receive this type of box during the Christmas holidays as gifts from our grandparents and aunts.
Jollibee.
Any Filipino knows what Jollibee is. It is a fast food chain that was McDonald’s competition in the Philippines. My favorite food item of theirs is the spaghetti-the sauce was sweet and had ground beef and hotdogs!
Greenhills Shopping Center
Tripadvisor and Yahoo Travel has recommended this shopping center for an excellent shopping experience filled with bargains. I’m sure before, this was a fairly small shopping center that has expanded. All I remember about this place was the video store that we would rent movies from and one time gotten a seedless watermelon.
Another thing I remember - which doesn’t require any images... So the sewer system in our neighborhood wasn’t good (and non existent) so when it rains, the ground will be about 5 inches above water. I always enjoyed walking in this water, no matter how disgusting it was. When you were a kid, you never think about the disgusting things that may have been breeding in that water, all you know is that its water that resembles the beach... Oh yeah, also when it rains, the kids in the neighborhood would bring soap outside and shower in the rain...
So there it is... my first list of landmarks of memories of me growing up in the Philippines. Me and my sister had led a pretty sheltered life. We weren’t allowed to go out of the house and the only time that we actually see the street is when we climbed up of our gate to talk to the kids in our neighborhood.
XOXO
